nucmednet Chapter 384 Prisoners of War
Chapter 384 Prisoners of War
Three days later, the army began to break camp.
The deployment of an army of tens of thousands was no small undertaking, and Zhu Dadian made meticulous arrangements. The vanguard was the cavalry force led by the Guan Ning Army, with reinforcements from Tianjin and Hebei, along with local Shandong troops, in the middle, and the Qiongzhou camp bringing up the rear, breaking camp in sequence. In Zhu Dadian's view, having the Guan Ning Army, arguably the strongest cavalry, leading the charge would prevent harassment from the rebels and thus avoid shaking the main force, while the formidable Qiongzhou camp at the rear would stabilize morale. The suppression of the rebellion was nearing its end; no mishaps could be tolerated at this crucial juncture.
When the army marched into Huang County, the rebels indeed came to harass them. After Li Jiucheng's death in battle, there were not many capable generals left in Dengzhou, and this time it was Prince Deng who led the army into battle. The Guan Ning army, as the vanguard, naturally stepped forward to meet the challenge.
The outcome of the battle was not unexpected. In terms of personal martial prowess and leadership, Wang Zideng was no match for Li Jiucheng. He was defeated after only a few rounds, with over a hundred men killed and dozens more captured. He was essentially sent to his death. The battle ended at Chenshi (7-9 AM), and news arrived at Sishi (9-11 AM) that the Guan Ning army intended to execute all the dozens of prisoners of war outside Dengzhou City to demoralize the enemy.
Upon hearing this news, Wang Qinian, who had been with the army, approached Liu Ye and proposed releasing the prisoners of war so that he could sneak into Dengzhou with him.
"Now that the army is about to besiege the city, this is the only chance to infiltrate Dengzhou."
Liu Ye considered it for a while and decided it was worth a try. He had infiltrated Dengzhou City with Liaodong soldiers who had been turned by the rebels, and these soldiers had played a key role in the city's fall. The plan was simple and crude, but effective.
He said to Wang Qinian, "You make the arrangements first, and I'll go talk to the governor."
After meeting Zhu Dadian and proposing this plan, Zhu Dadian was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Now that the rebels are trapped, what we need to do is to capture Dengzhou and annihilate the rebels. Why bother with these underhanded methods? Even if we send people to infiltrate the city, once the siege is complete and the two armies are facing each other, I'm afraid not even a mosquito can fly over. How can we pass on messages?"
Others might not know, but Liu Ye knew that before the city fell, the rebels would escape by sea from Shuicheng. While Dengzhou could be recaptured, annihilating the rebels was merely wishful thinking. Most importantly, he wanted to know the exact time and route of the rebels' escape so he could intercept them at sea and prevent Kong Youde from taking the cannons and cannon-casting craftsmen from the city to Liaodong and presenting them to Huang Taiji. Given Huang Taiji's foresight, mastering cannon-casting technology and quickly forming cannons into combat-ready forces wouldn't take long. The Qiongzhou camp would inevitably encounter Huang Taiji in the future, and the difference between a Later Jin army with cannons and one without would be significant for the Qiongzhou camp.
However, he couldn't say this explicitly, otherwise he would be seen as a prophetic charlatan. He could only vaguely say, "Your Excellency, besieging Dengzhou is not difficult, but we must guard against Kong Youde and his men escaping by sea. There's a water city just outside the north gate of Dengzhou, where the imperial navy was originally stationed. It wouldn't take long for them to retreat from the main city to the sea via the water city. My navy is currently stationed on an island twenty or thirty miles offshore from Dengzhou. If we can find out the time and route of the rebels' escape, the navy can intercept and ambush them at sea. If we can recapture Dengzhou and annihilate the rebels at sea, it will be a great achievement. Otherwise, what if Kong Youde and his men defect to the Tartars in the north? Wouldn't that be giving Huang Taiji an advantage?"
Gao Qiqian, standing to the side, scoffed, "You're worrying unnecessarily. No matter how despicable Kong Youde is, he still followed Mao Wenlong and fought the Tartars to the death, his hands stained with Tartar blood. Even if he were to escape, he would flee back to Dongjiang Town, and there's no way he would surrender to the Tartar pseudo-Khan. Isn't he afraid that the pseudo-Khan Huang Taiji will kill him to avenge the past?"
Liu Ye was somewhat speechless. This eunuch was being presumptuous; he underestimated Huang Taiji. If he didn't even have this much magnanimity, how could Huang Taiji have become a powerful figure who led a local regime to overthrow the Ming Dynasty?
He resisted the urge to kick Gao Qiqian and patiently explained, "Your Excellency is unaware of the truth. Kong Youde and others left Dongjiang because of their discord with the newly appointed General Huang Long. They were then recruited by Sun Yuanhua, the then Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou. Dongjiang Town is still plagued by internal strife and factions. There is no place for Kong Youde to hide. Besides, Kong Youde is accused of rebellion. How could he possibly return to Dongjiang Town and walk into a trap?"
Aside from being obsequious to Emperor Chongzhen, Gao Qiqian was used to being flattered and rarely criticized. When Liu Ye refuted his remarks, his face immediately fell, looking so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip from it.
Seeing this, Zhu Dadian knew that Gao Qiqian harbored resentment. If it were any other military officer, he wouldn't have offended this supervising eunuch for him. However, Liu Ye was shrewd and knew how to handle things, and had promised to transport the starving people away to solve the people's suffering and to train a new army for him, so he had to protect him. Therefore, he tried to smooth things over: "What Eunuch Gao said is right. If Kong Youde wants to escape, he will only escape back to Dongjiang. However, Lieutenant General Liu's concerns are not without merit. How about this, you go to the Guan Ning Army and ask for these prisoners. Just say that I said so. As for how to use the prisoners to infiltrate Dengzhou City, whether it will be successful or not, that's up to you."
Liu Ye was overjoyed. With Zhu Dadian agreeing, things would be much easier. "Thank you for your kindness, Governor. I will go find the Guan Ning Army now."
He rushed through the main force to the vanguard, found Wu Sangui, and told him about the matter. Wu Sangui readily agreed.
“If it were anyone else demanding prisoners, my Guan Ning Army wouldn’t even give them a second glance. But General Liu is a different story. Please wait a moment, General Liu, while I go and tell my uncle.”
A moment later, Wu Sangui returned and told Liu Ye, "Your uncle has agreed. All thirty-six prisoners will be handed over to you."
Liu Ye thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you, General Wu, for your help. Please also thank General Zu on my behalf."
Wu Sangui laughed and said, "It's nothing, General Liu, just remember our deal."
"sure."
On the way back to his camp with the prisoners, Liu Ye couldn't help but sigh. It was so difficult to get anything done within the system, even if it concerned whether Huang Taiji would ever possess firearms and cannons. If he hadn't deliberately cultivated relationships with Zhu Dadian and the Guan Ning Army, these prisoners would never have been handed over to him if any one link in the chain had been blocked.
Back at the camp, Liu Ye summoned Wang Qinian and reprimanded the prisoners of war in front of him.
"If it weren't for me today, you would already be dead under the Guan Ning army's blades. Now the army is about to besiege Dengzhou, and Kong Youde and the others are fighting like cornered beasts. Their destruction is just around the corner. Do you want to abandon the darkness and join the light, or will you be buried with Kong Youde? By the way, let me tell you, Li Jiucheng died by my hand."
Even if Liu Ye hadn't said anything, these rebel prisoners were well aware of the current situation. They had followed Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde in their rebellion only for money and women. Since this path had already led to a dead end, why continue down this dark road? They looked at each other, nodded to one another, and then knelt down to beg for mercy: "We are willing to abandon darkness and embrace the light. Please, General, show us the way."